REI web sales climb nicely in 2007

The outdoor crowd still loves to shop and in 2007 they gave more business to Recreational Equipment Inc. both online and in stores. Web sales rose by 15.9% while comp store sales grew by 8.2%.

The outdoor crowd still loves to shop and in 2007 they gave more business to Recreational Equipment Inc. both online and in stores.

In 2007, web sales for REI.com rose by 15.9% to $226 million from $195 million in 2006. At the same time REI, No. 61 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, reported net income of $41.4 million on sales of $1.3 billion vs. net income of $40.3 million on sales of $1.15 billion in 2006.

Comparable store sales grew by 8.2%, marking three consecutive years of growth above 8%, the company says. “We are encouraged by our sustained growth and healthy profits during 2007, especially in a year when the country’s economy faced uncertain times,” says Brad Johnson, REI’s chief financial officer. “As we celebrate our 70th year as an outdoor retailer, we are pleased to carry on our tradition of sharing our profits with members, communities and employees. We will also continue to reinvest in our business to ensure the long-term success of the co-op even 100 years from today.”

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In 2007, REI also added 625,000 new members to its cooperative. Since 1938, more than 8.75 million consumers have become REI members, the retailer says.

In the past year REI opened its latest regional distribution center: a 525,000-square-foot building on 43 acres in Bedford, PA. The new distribution center will help REI significantly reduce transit times of stock replenishment to stores and more quickly deliver orders to co-op members and customers, the cooperative says. About of 42 of REI’s 96 stores will be serviced by the distribution center, as well as approximately 50% of the co-op’s direct-to-customer business, which includes e-commerce.